Past, present and future travels around the United States in our motorhomes.

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Strike Out Or A Home Run?

Already having diagnosed what caused my basement air conditioning unit to stop working, I set out on my quest to find the elusive blower motor start capacitor.

What is a start capacitor, you ask? Well, is like a spring, which you can wind up and up, which stores energy until you release it. The capacitor is like a storage battery, it takes in a large electrical charge and stores it until released.

Electric motors, air conditioner compressors and such require lots of voltage to initially start turning. Once they get turning, very little power is required to keep turning. Sort of like the last time you ran out of gas with your car and had to push it. It takes a lot of grunting and groaning to get it rolling but once it gets rolling, you don’t have to use as much muscle power to keep it moving, (unless you come to a hill!).

The a/c fan motor needs a little boost to get running and that’s what the capacitor does, it gives a high voltage “push” to the motor when it is switched on.

Okay, sorry, got a little carried away with the lesson. Here in Branson, I researched where to buy the capacitor. I found many places that carry the part, but only sell wholesale, not to the general public. If I was an RV repair place or an electrician business, no problem, but not being either, it was going to be interesting.

I always like to have a plan “B”, so after researching the Winnebago Parts catalog on line, I got the part number. First thing this morning, I called Lichtsinn Motors, a Winnebago dealer one mile from the factory. Being so close to the factory, they can get parts very quickly. I ordered the capacitor which was in stock and the little rubber cover boot that goes over the top of the capacitor to protect the wires, which was not in stock and will take five weeks to get.

I figured I could have them overnight the capacitor if I couldn’t get it locally and I’d jury rig something to cover the top in place of the boot. I’ve ordered parts from them for years and they are terrific to work with. I told the parts guy to hold the capacitor, I’d try and get one locally and I would call him back to tell him where to send it if I couldn't.

So, how did I make out? One of my blog readers told me that even though Grainger Supply is an electrical parts wholesaler, sometimes they will sell retail. He gave me the phone number, which I did Google lookup and got the address.

Just to be sure, I got the addresses for several other local electrical supply wholesalers too, hoping that if I had no luck with one, maybe another would be moved enough by my teary-eyed sob story to sell me one.

I also wrote down the names of the two local RV dealers, just as a backup to my backup plans. (Plan “B.1).

My dad and I hopped in the car this morning and set off for the Grainger address. The GPS took us out and about and out of town into an unpopulated area and then by an old house. “You have arrived at your destination” it said. That run down old house didn’t look like a large supply warehouse. Hmm, thinking I might have gotten the address wrong, I dialed the number and got a phone line has been disconnected message. Now it made sense, it was the former home of somebody named Grainger.

Looking over my notes, I saw that we were close to one of the local RV dealers, so I decided to head over that way to see if they might, by some miracle, have a capacitor in stock. I doubted it but what the heck?

We pulled up to a run down looking yard with a bunch of older RVs all around a big garage. We went inside to find a mess, boxes of junk, shelves with all kinds of things hanging off them, old parts piled up, (the heap of old RV toilets was a nice touch) and went into the smoke filled office, where two men were sitting, smoking away.

After I stopped coughing, I asked if they, by any chance might have a capacitor. I gave one of the guys the old one (in a plastic baggy so my fingers would stay clean) and he took a look at it.

Now comes the part where I’m supposed to tell you if I struck out or made a home run. That will have to wait for the next post. But, being I’m such a nice guy, I’ll give you a hint on how I made out:

But, just in case you struck out, call RVP/Coleman in Wichita. Their message says they only take support calls from qualified techs. But, if they'll talk to us (and believe us they have) they'll talk with you. They're very, very helpful!!!!!

We're eager to hear how this story turns out. We're learning on ya! Thanks so much for sharing.

Howdy Marti & Chief,Well, at least y'all aren't stuck in the crowded Turkey Trot Park... I bet if you'd just opened up the bay doors and stood there someone would have come over with the capacitor to fix the AC!!! You can do it, I have faith in you!!!

Who are we?

Paul is a retired career U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer (1981 to 2011) and Marti is a retired Nursing Home Administrator. We currently (2014) have three children, all married and eight grandkids.
We have traveled all around the U.S. in a high-speed, part time travel mode, whetting our desire to travel fulltime in our RV. On December 5, 2011, we realized our dream and headed out on the road as newly minted full time RV travelers.